


Behind the Scenes

by TheHomestuckWhovian



Category: Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: Family Drama, Gen, based on anime, focused on minor character because Renge needs more development
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 21:07:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4761044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHomestuckWhovian/pseuds/TheHomestuckWhovian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Host Club is well known for entertaining the young girls of Ouran Academy, and the seven members of the club are well known and loved by all the customers.</p><p>Meanwhile, Renge Houshakuji is personally happy to push things along from behind the scenes, and couldn't be happier that the club isn't going away.</p><p>But, things take an awful turn when Renge gets a letter that brings back her sad past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Behind the Scenes

If you asked any club member who arrived first to Music Room 3 after school, all of them would tell you it would be Tamaki, who was always so eager to be there that he would beat anyone who ran for the same place.

That wasn't exactly true though.

On the Monday after the school festival, Renge arrived in the club room, early as usual, carrying a huge pile of clothes and assorted cloth and accessories in a basket. She quickly dropped it in a storeroom and ran through the music room, resetting the rose petal fans (after all, the rose petals floating out of the room when the door opened was a must) and her rising platform.

It was a task that, on Friday, she thought she would never get the chance to do again. She had been absolutely livid when it had happened. She had been happy that someone else from France had transferred to Ouran Academy, and had even volunteered to show her around.

Oh boy did she regret her enthusiasm.

But, she didn't have time to think about that! She quickly darted to the storeroom, which she had deemed her office, and got to work on the most recent idea to get both customers into the Host Club, and to make money for the budget. She also had come up with a new theme party, and decided that they should be dressed as Greek gods, and had brought the supplies to make the costumes herself if the twins' mom didn't have any clothes that met her approval. She always looked for accuracy in her costumes, after all, and not all Greek god costumes fit the bill.

In her office, she had a simple desk with drawers, a swivel chair that she enjoyed spinning in sometimes, corkboards covered with papers: lists of foods for theme party ideas, costume designs from a few of the costumes that she had made herself, organization of photo albums that the club would be selling, etc. She also had a sewing machine for costume making and enough room on the desk for her laptop and a printer.

Of course, since this was a music storeroom, she had to arrange her desk carefully. There were timpani and marimbas and chimes to avoid after all, and there were large shelves for storing musical instruments.

She seated herself on her desk, placing her computer on her desk, and listened as Tamaki bounded in with excitement. He was even more ecstatic than usual today, and Renge assumed that it was due to the club continuing to function. Soon after him came the calm, evenly paced footsteps of her once crush, Kyouya. She now looked back on that moment and was wondering what in her right mind led her to be that delusional.

As the rest of the club arrived, Renge peeped out of her storeroom to check to make sure the rose petal rig was looking functional. The rose petals on the floor of the music room told Renge that it had worked when the hosts had entered.

Satisfied with the rig she had designed, she began working on the list of Greek foods they would need for the next theme party, and the best quality food that would be in the club's budget. She looked mostly for companies she could trace back to the Ootori Group, since that would make Kyouya, in charge of actually ordering the supplies, would be able to have an easier time getting them at a cheap price.

She then decided to talk to the twins about their mother's options for Greek costumes and maybe see about specific ones, so she could see whether she should just get them from her or make them herself. After all, she had made cosplays for herself many times, and all she would need was to get the measurements of the club from the school.

Then she looked up proper decorations. Actual marble pillars would be out of budget, so she would have to see about checking the theater department for any. Her father was good friends with a florist, and she decided that having narcissus, roses, laurels, and irises would work wonderfully. She read up on as many Greek myths as she could over the weekend when looking for inspiration, and would make sure to get the club informed on as many as they could. She remembered a craft she used to do when she was little, making paper mache vases, like the ones you always saw in museum. She could try that again, and she could use the balloon trick that her...

No. Doing one of those wouldn't be good for her emotional state. She could probably find some better quality replicas anyway.

Eventually, after figuring out what all she needed, there was still enough time for her to finish her homework.

After club time, Renge listened as the other hosts left, leaving one behind.

She grinned as the piano began.

Tamaki sometimes stayed after club hours to play piano, and Renge often heard, since she would stay after since she didn't have much to do at home except play video games, and she had agreed to cut back on how often she played Uki Doki Memorial and other dating sims if he got her the next game in the series when it came out. After she forced the two of them to move back to Japan because of her obsession, he had decided that he really needed to cut down on this behavior, and she had agreed to his terms after getting her heart broken because of her infatuation with a fictional character. She had other video games, including some American ones that involved a lot of shooting (she enjoyed playing those when she was angry or frustrated with something. Say what you want about Americans, but they made good video games to let out frustrations with), but she already beat them and her father had a limit of two video games a month with their new agreement. It was easier to resist when she was busy with something. At school in her "office" she could work on cosplays, figure out how to update her rising platform and her rose petal rig, which she had struggled to fix after it started delaying last week, and focus on other activities she did around the school, Host Club related or not.

She had to admit, for a guy who seemed kind of idiotic sometimes, Tamaki was a good pianist. And she knew good. Her father had taken her to music concerts a lot when she was little, though that stopped when...

Back to homework.

She breezed through her math assignment, and began her essay when the piano stopped and the door opened and shut.

That was her cue that it was time to go. She grabbed her bookbag and placed her laptop back in it, before grabbing her phone and calling for the limo to pick her up.

She walked through the halls of Ouran. Few people were left in the school at this time, but she didn't mind. She still held some antisocial tendencies from her time spent only on video games and nothing else, and she didn't always mind being alone.

"Hello, Akira-san," Renge said to the limo driver as she entered. "Is Dad at home?"

"Yes ma'am," Akira replied, smiling at her. The man had been driving for her family since she was little, and her father trusted him as much as he trusted his doctors. He used to give her candies when her father wasn't looking, the only thing the two didn't tell him.

Akira headed off, saying, "I'm glad to see you in high spirits. Friday evening you actually left when school on time, and you seemed depressed."

"The club is staying!" Renge cheered happily, grinning with triumph. "Haruhi was the one who got him back, as I predicted she would. Hikaru broke his arm though, and Haruhi still doesn't realize she loves Tamaki." She groaned slightly at the only other female member of the Host Club. Which she also knew was supposed to be a secret.

He shook his head and laughed, saying, "Well, not all people are as perceptive of their own feelings as you are, ma'am."

"Also, the club is getting more customers than ever because of Kasanoda visiting Haruhi. I truly milked the gay romance thing for all it was worth. She didn't even notice though." Sometimes Renge felt like tearing out her own hair at Haruhi's obliviousness. "But at least she isn't as bad as Tamaki."

Even Akira groaned at that one, saying, "I have dealt with oblivious significant others before, but he is truly ridiculous ma'am."

"How is your brother doing with his new wife?" Renge asked, changing topics so she could remain positive. Tamaki and Haruhi could make her get aggravated with their ignoring very obvious feelings, making her want to play one of those American shooting games.

Akira smiled and answered, "They are doing great. She has been very accepting of him so far, and I do think they will have a happy marriage. None of the in-laws know yet, but she has assured him that they won't mind."

"Congratulate him for me?" she asked, smiling. She had heard a lot about Akira's brother, who had been going through his transition and had been estranged from most of his family because of it. "I hope things turn out well for him."

"He also told me to thank you for the money you gave him as a wedding present," he added. "And a promise to work at one of your father's companies was an amazing gift."

Renge just grinned, then added, "Please tell him that his employers have been instructed to treat him correctly, and if they don't, they answer to me. I figure his new life should start off secure. I've also found several adoption agencies for him to go to if they decide to have a child." She gave Akira a list from her bag. "I wanted to give it to you Friday, but I was distracted."

"You are an angel, ma'am." The limo stopped in front of Renge's home. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be sure my brother gets this list."

Renge stepped out, grinning as she recited, "Au'revoir, Monsieur Akira."

The two waved as Renge went inside.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering, yes, Akira's brother is transgender. In the story he is currently going through hormone therapy. He will be introduced later in the story. Male pronouns are the pronouns he uses, in case you are confused.
> 
> Also, wasn't that chapter nice and fun? Now lets make it all tragic!


End file.
